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Skinny Bitch for a Week!

Hahaha, okay not really. But I did follow the Skinny Bitch way of eating for 7 days, as I had mentioned in a previous post to see if it would make a difference and I'm happy to report back to you guys about how it all went! My fiancé and I started this plant based diet (no dairy, no meat) as a little experiment after hearing great things about it. We had done a lot of research and the general claims were that:

a) You feel better, lighter, happier.

b) You have more energy and your mood improves.

c) Your body benefits hugely. A glowing complexion, weight loss and stronger hair and nails were just some of the promised side effects.

What did we learn?

Like I said in my last post, this was a challenge for both me and Jonathan because he is a big meat eater and I am a self-confessed cheese lover. But nonetheless we stuck to it pretty strictly (minus a slice of cheesecake...it was only once, okay?) and here is what we learned:

1. Eat more whole foods.

Something that came as a huge shock to us was actually finding out what's in the food we are eating. Before, we would eat SO much processed food. If you do your research about the ingredients and READ the back of the things you're putting in your mouth, this will really open your eyes and probably horrify you too. I found Skinny Bitch's list of harmful ingredients extremely helpful with this. I couldn't believe some of the preservatives we had been putting into our body and how dangerous they can be. It's really scary :( To avoid this, we started eating A LOT of whole foods. For example, fresh fruit, nuts, raw bars, smoothies made with JUST the fruit, organic veggies and so on.

2. Cook from scratch.

This is something I'm still working on. But I'm getting better! Before, I would buy ready-made meals, sauces from jars, microwaveable rice and very processed foods full of preservatives and salt. I absolutely do not like to cook, however going vegetarian makes things easier because one of the main reasons I didn't like it was because of handling meat. It just makes me feel sick...I don't know how people actually prepare whole chickens to be roasted in the oven. It makes me want to gag! That's a dead body!! Ewww... Hahaha, I just hate it! So this actually worked to my advantage because veggies aren't gross, nor do they have any bones/skin/dangly body parts...aah! (Okay they do have skin...but not the kind I'm talking about!)

3. Buy organic and wholegrain.

We tried our very best to NOT shop in Tesco for main ingredients like fruit and vegetables, however it's difficult with it being so close to where we live and the farmers' market is only once a week. However we tried to shop organic as much as we could, and I firmly believe that organic foods make you feel better. We also shopped at health food stores for the first time! This was a fun experience, and trying out all the new foods became like an adventure.

So, what exactly did I eat?

Here's a sample menu of what I ate for the last seven days.

Breakfast: Porridge with light soy milk, half a banana, a handful of blueberries and a sprinkling of cinnamon. A fresh cup of Starbucks coffee (black).

We also cut out ALL soda/fizzy drinks. I haven't had a Diet Coke in almost two weeks! I substituted that with water (about 8 glasses a day). Jonathan drank Innocent smoothies with hemp protein powder every morning and took a multivitamin as well. I've never been a fan of supplements, so I just tried to get all the vitamins I need in the foods I ate! :)

What side-effects did we experience?

1.We both feel much lighter, healthier, and more positive. We also have a lot more energy now, and we are going to bed earlier and waking up earlier than usual! Both Jonathan and I feel perkier, more awake and better about ourselves. We don't feel bloated or uncomfortably full after eating anymore. I did experience one episode of terrible bloating, on the third day and I believe this was down to getting so much more fibre in my diet. It passed after one day and was gone by the next morning.

2. Our skin is GLOWING. This was an absolutely huge benefit for both of us, and possibly the most noticeable after such a short amount of time. Literally, one day after starting this way of eating I started getting all these lovely comments on my videos about how my skin was glowing and asking what highlighter I was using. I did not change my makeup routine at all. I was not using any highlighters, or illuminating products. I used the same foundation (Bare Minerals), blush, bronzer, skincare routine, etc. The only explanation I can think of for this glowing skin is my diet. Also, Jonathan's complexion has become brighter, and more glowy as well! He has gotten so many comments telling him this in recent videos. It's amazing!

3. Weight/fat loss. I did not set out on this diet to lose weight AT ALL, because I didn't want to and I'm happy with my weight. So I made sure to eat a lot more to make sure that didn't happen. However, Jonathan has already lost 5lbs (and he kept chicken in his diet for the week). My weight fluctuates between 115-120lbs, depending on the time of the month and it stayed at 115lbs which is the lowest I ever am for the whole duration of the week. Having said that, I somehow also magically lost an inch from my waist! This came as a big surprise, as I was not expecting it at all. It's usually 24" and when I measured it at the end of the week it was 23". It just goes to show that measurements are so much more accurate than weight! :)

What's the plan now?

I definitely want to continue on with some of these eating habits. The health benefits are just too good to ignore, and we definitely don't want to go back to eating the way we were!

Anna

I've decided to go continue to eat a meat and dairy (for the most part) free diet. I will, however eat fish, goat's cheese, feta, mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta. What can I say, I'm half Italian! I can't live without my good cheeses :) But I will try to only eat organic and source my cheese from farmers' markets. My parents actually always did this, I just never even noticed! I will probably never buy cheddar, milk, cream or butter again and will only eat organic eggs.

Jonathan

He has decided to keep dairy products out of his diet and limit his chocolate intake as well. (I don't think he could ever completely cut out chocolate :) Jonathan has always had bad reactions to dairy anyway, so this has had a huge effect on how he feels and he wants to keep it that way! He is also going to continue to eat chicken and fish but avoid red meat.

Albi and Sina

Hahaha, bet you didn't think I would include them did you?! Honestly though, their diet has changed too! They get fed fewer scraps (now that we don't really eat meat or cheese anymore) and instead they snack on raw carrots, apple (these two are great for their teeth!) and the odd time they get a little lick of some peanut butter. Obviously they get fed their regular dog food as well but certain human foods are okay.

(Others are NOT! Just in case any of you didn't know, grapes and raisins are extremely dangerous, as well as mushrooms, onions and too much dairy/salt. So please, be careful what you feed your puppies!)

This concludes my rambly and lengthy post on my diet! I hope it wasn't too boring...I will try to include more pictures throughout the day of the food I eat and incorporate them in later. Let me know your thoughts on all of this and please feel free to share your experiences! Have you ever done something like this before? Or changed your eating habits for one reason or another? Is this something you're thinking about doing too? If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me in the comments!

19 comments

this is a very interesting post to me! I absolutely share your thoughts and experiences on a healthier plant based diet. I'm not a vegetarian, I love meat once in a while, but I eat it maybe once every two weeks or so (and mostly white meat btw).

What I really want to know: did you spent more money for the healthy, fresh, organic food? Here in Germany I probably would. Organic fruits and veggies are pretty expensive, and as a student I normally have to buy the regular ones, unfortunately...

I've decided to eat healthier a while ago. I eat apples, bananas and kiwis everyday :) I also drink a lot of water (2 liters a day). I've been drinking lots of green tea for a long time and I've started to drink white tea as well! The only kind of meat I eat is chick-chick-chicken! I love chicken and I'll never cut it out! I also reduced the intake of chocolate because one bar of chocolate means one acne on my face :(I changed the way I'm eating to feel better and also because I watched your old video where you talk about the importance of eating healthy when you take exams and study (thanks, Anna!) Well, I'm about to finish my high school in half a year, so I wanna have good results! Sorry that this comment is so long! Greetings from Poland! :)xoxo, Agata

This is really intersting to read! I've been vegetarian for over a year now (I do eat fish though), but that's because of animal welfare rather than health reasons. I do feel a lot better now that I don't eat meat, but your post has inspired me to get more into organic foods etc.

Oh and just as a side note: Chocolate is VERY BAD for dogs! Small dogs can die if they ingest only a tiny amount (and dark chocolate is especially bad because of the high cocoa content). Just thought I'd add that in case anyone didn't know! :)

Hi Anna,the diet you're taking from now onwards mirrors exactly the one I've been following for the last year. Make sure your eggs are "free range" and not just organic, aside from the hen health, they taste A LOT better.Have a fabulous new diet-life!g

Great post! I agree with your new choices, they are sensible, work for you both, and are definite improvements! I am really into fitness and nutrition and agree with you on a lot of the supplements. If you have never tried it, google "Salba" (chia seeds). You would be amazed at the benefits for the human body. They are one of the healthiest whole foods in the world...and they sell it at Kroger where I live in the States! :) Congrats on your new, healthier lifestyle. You were already beautiful, this is going to make you a truly radiant bride!!! <3

Hi Anna,I'm glad you shared all this information, it was so interesting to read... :) I've been eating a lot healthier too,and i have to say you and Jonathan were my main inspiration to make this change! I still eat fish (being portuguese,that's a huge part of my diet!) and sometimes i indulge in a bit of chocolate, but i completely removed all read meat and chicken from my diet,along with milk,cream,butter and cheese. And i feel soooo much better!! Thank you for giving me the motivation i needed to take this important step :))It would be great if you could add some pictures of the foods you've been eating, that's always good for inspiration! :)

Good for you, Anna! :)Well, I do not eat any kind of meat except only cenrain kinds of fish and the dellicious chicken I just can not refuse. As I am a huge animal lover, my decision about meat came as an ethical one(FYI due to the allowance of ritual killing in my country - which was a nonsence and ment only for export as I live in northen Europe with no muslims at all..)few years ago. Milk - I avoid milk, but it is essential for your teeth and bones(in cases if you dont take calcium by other sources). But I dont use sugar, salt, cofee, butter for about 8 years:)My morals of it all - to be healthy eat veggies, fruits, fresh food, which is made from a scratch(I dont fancy cooking much too, but Im at least trying and practicing it more and more). And doing the harsh nordic vintertime in northern countries use a lot of vitamines in fruits(lemons, kivis, oranges, etc.) as well as multivitamin complexes to boost the imunity, e voila! ;)Have a good day!

I have always wanted to try this diet especially because I really don't like eating cows and pigs but especially pigs :( there are studies that pigs are just as loyal and even smarter than dogs! So as a dog lover myself I can't feel right eating them, not to mention what's done to them. But anyway, not to ramble on :p I was wondering if your grocery bill has gone up? The one reason why it's hard to switch out processed foods for all natural healthier options is because the healthier foods are more expensive, at least in the U.S. that's how it is! I also have trouble coming up with ideas because I'm really not much of a cooker either haha You guys should defiantly post updates of what you've been eating maybe even make some cooking vids for those of us who aren't so good at it!hehe :)

Hi, Anna. Congrats on this exciting discovery/journey! I'm a 15 year vegetarian who avoids dairy but LOVES chocolate :) If Jonathan can't (or, like me, won't - yum yum yum) forgo chocolately goodness in his diet, I've found that some of the Lindt Excellence bars are dairy free. It's their dark chocolate line & I believe it's their 70% (& up) cocoa bars that don't have dairy. I usually stick with the 99% cocoa bar because it's so rich that just a tiny piece will do, thereby reducing saturated fat intake, too. For hot cocoa, I just dump a bit of cocoa powder (the kind you use for baking) into a mug with some soy or coconut milk & put it either on the stove until it's dissolved or in the microwave for a couple of minutes. As you can tell, I'm super pro-chocolate :) Good luck to the both of you!

Thanks for sharing your experience, Anna. This is really big inspiration for me, because I realise I eat too much of dairy products (I don't like meat and eggs, but I do sport so I need protein a lot). Your video and article made me find some information about Skinny Bitch or veganism in general and think I will give it a try. I used to eat tofu and ,,soya meat" a lot (AND I ALSO NOTICED MY SKIN WAS IN BETTER CONDITION), so now I'm going to eat it again and remove the yoghurts and ricotta and hard cheese which I eat every day.

Hi Anna, these are amazing results! congrats, I honestly didn't expect you to feel so much better/healthier in such a short time.

I have found a very interesting article about the "making baby steps"-part of changing your diet towards a more plant-based diet.

http://vegan.com/ultimate-vegan-guide/chap8/

I just found it yesterday, to me it was very helpful (I am currently struggling to cut out all animal by-products in cosmetics. I won't use anything with lanolin, but organic beeswax is ok for me just now :-) )

Anyway, I wish you all the best. I agree with you btw, you shouldn't be so strict, especially when you are just starting out. So Enjoy!!

hi Anna, I really have to agree with your post that this kind of diet - vegan diet works perfectly well for our skin but also for our liver. healthy liver is only way to have a nice skin so we should to care about it:DI have tried the skinny bitch diet and You mottivated me to try it again. thank you so much.p.s. I love your blog and your videos :)Marciq from Poland :)

After you mentioned the Alicia Silverstone video I got "The Kind Diet" out of the library and read it. It was so convincing and mind blowing that I followed along with you on an almost vegan meal plan (I still eat yogurt and seafood) but with eating extra to make sure I didn't loose any weight at all. I couldn't believe the results I saw after just 3 days, it's incredible!!! I'm sticking to this too because after reading that it finally was the push I needed to be able to actually cut out meat, so thanks for sharing this all Anna :)

p.s. keep an eye out at the p.o. for a "congratulatory book" card. I am half way through and it's AMAZING.

It's been 3 years since I last ate meat and I never felt better. I don't eat process foods as well... It really changes the way you feel more than you look, which is great. I can't give up cheese or milk though, I looove them (:

I'm 30 years old, married to Jonathan and mummy to five year old Emilia, four year old Eduardo, one year old Alessia and expecting a baby boy in August 2018! We also have six Maltese dogs and our house is basically a zoo.

I used to love fashion & makeup a lot (I still do even if I'm normally covered in snot or milk stains) I've always loved food and I never skip dessert!

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